RESEARCH STARTER

Pinterest

Pinterest is a free online and mobile social-bookmarking platform that allows users to upload and share images, known as "pins," from around the web. Users can organize these pins into themed collections called "pinboards," enabling them to showcase their interests and inspirations, ranging from event planning to meal ideas. Founded in 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp, Pinterest has evolved into a popular resource for individuals and businesses alike, with a focus on visual content. Unlike traditional social media, Pinterest does not facilitate direct transactions; instead, businesses often link their products to their main websites through their pins. Initially perceived as a platform primarily for women, Pinterest has grown to attract a diverse user base, reaching over 100 million active monthly users by 2015. The platform's unique interface encourages users to discover and share ideas, fostering a collaborative environment. Additionally, Pinterest has introduced business accounts, allowing brands to promote their products through tailored "Promoted Pins," enhancing their marketing strategies within the visual landscape.

Full Article

Pinterest is a free online and mobile visual discovery and social media platform where users can upload images they find online. Unlike other social-bookmarking websites, Pinterest uses visuals, known as “pins.” Content uploaded to Pinterest must include a visual element such as an image or video. Once uploaded, images can be shared on other social media websites such as Facebook and X.

Users group their images into typically themed collections called “boards,” which act as content catalogs. Pinterest can serve as an accessible medium for users to share their tastes and interests with others; to get inspiration for events like weddings or vacations, style, and meals; and to share their own photographs. Businesses have also taken to Pinterest to promote their products. Pinterest supports shopping features, and businesses often post links to their websites along with their Pins.

Following its launch in 2010, Pinterest’s popularity grew to the point where many members began using it like a search engine. Users searching on the website usually look for objects and other material items like clothing and gadgets.

Brief History

Entrepreneurs Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra began developing Pinterest, along with architecture student Evan Sharp, in late 2009. The previous year, Silbermann quit his job at Google and teamed up with Sciarra to form their start-up company Cold Brew Labs, Inc. Their first project focused on building a mobile shopping application (app) for the iPhone called Tote. The app utilized an interface that presented products from various retailers and locations to users and personalized the shopping experience.

Eventually, Silbermann and Sciarra decided that Tote was too complicated and premature—investors were not interested in funding the project. Despite this setback, the concept for Pinterest came about from observing how people used Tote. They found that instead of using the app to shop, users were collecting images of products. Therefore, Silbermann and his team decided to make their next venture an image-based website. They intentionally left the purpose of the website ambiguous so that people could use it for anything they wished.

By early 2010, they had found funding for Pinterest from several investors, including private equity firm FirstMark Capital. In March 2010, the first prototype of Pinterest was made available to a small group of people. Three months later, the website had 3000 registered users. Initially, an invite was required to sign up for Pinterest; it was later opened up to everyone.

Although in the growing world of social media, 3000 is a small number of accounts, Silbermann and his team paid special attention to this group of users. They organized in-person meetings, asking users for feedback and promising them more invites if they got their friends to sign up. Using a campaign called “Pin It Forward,” users were encouraged to create albums, known as pinboards, to inspire friends to create their own.

The website continued to gradually grow in popularity, and in March 2011, they launched their first mobile app for the iPhone. Later that year, Pinterest acquired another large round of funding and was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2011. The next year, the site released apps for Android devices and iPads. Sciarra also left the company in 2012.

Overview

Pinterest allows users to save images from other websites or upload their own and “pin” them to an album of images known as a pinboard. Other users can find these pinboards and copy the images they like to their own boards. The initial view of the website was that it was mainly for women, since predominantly women were logging in seeking help to plan everything from dinners to weddings. Within four years after its launch in 2010, Pinterest grew to become one of the most popular websites on the Internet.

When users first sign up for Pinterest, they create a profile that includes a username. They then have the option of installing the Pinterest Save button on their web browser. This allows users to easily pin images from other websites to their boards. When pinning from a website, a link to the original page can be added on Pinterest so users can go to the source if they are interested.

Once users decide to make a pin, they must then select which pinboard to add it to. They also have the option of writing a caption for the image and creating a new pinboard based on it. Users can title their new pinboards whatever they like, but Pinterest has set categories, so users must pick the appropriate one or select “other.” There is also an option to add other users to a pinboard, so that they can also add images. Similar to Twitter, users can follow other accounts that interest them and “repin” images posted there, which adds them to one of their own boards. Users also have the option of “liking” and commenting on other users’ pins.

Popularity

Unlike many social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest did not achieve widespread popularity right away. Much of this was due to the fact that users were unsure of the website’s purpose. In June 2010, three months following its official launch, the website had three thousand users.

In April 2012, a report by marketing service Experian found that Pinterest had become the third most popular social networking site behind Facebook and X. This was a jump from the number seven spot in Experian’s previous report in November 2011. According to analytics groups such as Semiocast and comScore, within three years, Pinterest grew rapidly, reaching tens of millions of users worldwide.


According to Statista, in 2024, Pinterest reported approximately 553 million monthly active users worldwide. Pinterest reported more than 600 million monthly active users globally by late 2025 and early 2026.

Business Accounts

In 2012, Pinterest began allowing users to create business accounts. This development has enabled users who own businesses to market their products using the website’s image-based interface and link to a page where members can purchase the products. Users were also given the option of converting their personal Pinterest page into a business-specific one. For business accounts, Pinterest added several features to help companies improve their marketing strategy. These additions include buttons for users to pin images from the business websites onto Pinterest to help drive traffic and grow their audience. Pinterest announced expanded advertising opportunities for major consumer brands in late 2014. For a fee, businesses will be allowed to post tailored “Promoted Pins” that appear on users’ feeds. Pinterest later expanded its e-commerce features by introducing shoppable Pins, AI-assisted product discovery, and enhanced merchant integrations.

In 2022, Pinterest announced that its co-founder Ben Silbermann would step down from his position as chief executive and become the company’s first executive chair. Bill Ready, who has worked for PayPal and Google, became Pinterest’s chief executive officer. The following year, Pinterest announced its partnership with the platform LiveRamp. Pinterest and LiveRamp had a goal of avoiding third-party cookies and offering a secure environment. In 2025, Pinterest launched Pinterest Assistant, an AI-powered shopping and discovery tool that provides personalized recommendations based on users’ visual preferences and activity. Pinterest is increasingly focused on artificial intelligence, visual search, and personalized shopping experiences.


Bibliography

Bercovici, Jeff. “Inside Pinterest: The Coming Ad Colossus That Could Dwarf Twitter and Facebook.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 15 Oct. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/10/15/inside-pinterest-the-coming-ad-colossus-that-could-dwarf-twitter-and-facebook/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Bercovici, Jeff. “Still More Data Shows Pinterest Passing Twitter in Popularity.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 24 June 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/06/24/still-more-data-shows-pinterest-passing-twitter-in-popularity/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Carlson, Nicholas. “Inside Pinterest: An Overnight Success Four Years in the Making.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 1 May 2012, www.businessinsider.com/inside-pinterest-an-overnight-success-four-years-in-the-making-2012-4. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Degenhard, J. “Number of Pinterest Users in the United States from 2019 to 2028.” Statista, 26 Mar. 2026, www.statista.com/forecasts/1146884/pinterest-users-in-the-united-states. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Geron, Tomio. “Ben Silbermann on How Pinterest Slowly Grew to Massive Scale.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 22 Oct. 2012. www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/10/22/ben-silbermann-on-how-pinterest-slowly-grew-to-massive-scale/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Griffith, Erin. “Pinterest’s Ben Silbermann Steps Down as Chief Executive.” The New York Times, 28 June 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/business/pinterest-ben-silbermann.html. Accessed 19 May. 2026.

Haughney, Christine. “Publications See Pinterest as Key Ally.” New York Times. New York Times, 21 Sept. 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/business/media/publications-see-pinterest-as-key-ally. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Isaac, Mike. “Pinterest Pushing Deeper into Ads.” New York Times. New York Times, 28 Dec. 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/business/media/pinterest-opening-its-boards-to-ads-.. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Madrigal, Alexis C. “Can Pinterest Compete with Google’s Search?” NPR. NPR, 30 July 2014. www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/07/30/332317807/can-pinterest-compete-with-googles-search. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Madrigal, Alexis C. “What Is Pinterest? A Database of Intentions.” Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly, 31 July 2014. www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/what-is-pinterest-a-database-of-intentions/375365/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

McDade, Aaron. “Pinterest’s Stock Is Soaring after Better-Than-Expected Earnings. Its CEO Says AI Helped Drive Growth.” Investopedia, 5 May 2026, www.investopedia.com/pinterest-stock-is-soaring-after-better-than-expected-earnings-its-ceo-says-ai-helped-drive-growth-pins-11966736. Accessed 19 May 2026.

“Say Hello to Pinterest Assistant: Revolutionizing the Way You Shop Online.” Pinterest Newsroom, Pinterest, 30 Oct. 2025, newsroom.pinterest.com/news/pinterest-assistant-revolutionizing-the-way-you-shop-online/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Sheikh, Mahnoor. “29 Essential Pinterest Statistics for Marketers in 2026.” Sprout Social, 4 May 2026, sproutsocial.com/insights/pinterest-statistics/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Watkins, Bill. “Pinterest and LiveRamp Pilot a New Clean Room Solution with Albertsons Media Collective.” Business, 5 Jan. 2023, business.pinterest.com/blog/pinterest-liveramp-pilot-data-clean-room/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Full Article

Pinterest is a free online and mobile visual discovery and social media platform where users can upload images they find online. Unlike other social-bookmarking websites, Pinterest uses visuals, known as “pins.” Content uploaded to Pinterest must include a visual element such as an image or video. Once uploaded, images can be shared on other social media websites such as Facebook and X.

Users group their images into typically themed collections called “boards,” which act as content catalogs. Pinterest can serve as an accessible medium for users to share their tastes and interests with others; to get inspiration for events like weddings or vacations, style, and meals; and to share their own photographs. Businesses have also taken to Pinterest to promote their products. Pinterest supports shopping features, and businesses often post links to their websites along with their Pins.

Following its launch in 2010, Pinterest’s popularity grew to the point where many members began using it like a search engine. Users searching on the website usually look for objects and other material items like clothing and gadgets.

Brief History

Entrepreneurs Ben Silbermann and Paul Sciarra began developing Pinterest, along with architecture student Evan Sharp, in late 2009. The previous year, Silbermann quit his job at Google and teamed up with Sciarra to form their start-up company Cold Brew Labs, Inc. Their first project focused on building a mobile shopping application (app) for the iPhone called Tote. The app utilized an interface that presented products from various retailers and locations to users and personalized the shopping experience.

Eventually, Silbermann and Sciarra decided that Tote was too complicated and premature—investors were not interested in funding the project. Despite this setback, the concept for Pinterest came about from observing how people used Tote. They found that instead of using the app to shop, users were collecting images of products. Therefore, Silbermann and his team decided to make their next venture an image-based website. They intentionally left the purpose of the website ambiguous so that people could use it for anything they wished.

By early 2010, they had found funding for Pinterest from several investors, including private equity firm FirstMark Capital. In March 2010, the first prototype of Pinterest was made available to a small group of people. Three months later, the website had 3000 registered users. Initially, an invite was required to sign up for Pinterest; it was later opened up to everyone.

Although in the growing world of social media, 3000 is a small number of accounts, Silbermann and his team paid special attention to this group of users. They organized in-person meetings, asking users for feedback and promising them more invites if they got their friends to sign up. Using a campaign called “Pin It Forward,” users were encouraged to create albums, known as pinboards, to inspire friends to create their own.

The website continued to gradually grow in popularity, and in March 2011, they launched their first mobile app for the iPhone. Later that year, Pinterest acquired another large round of funding and was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2011. The next year, the site released apps for Android devices and iPads. Sciarra also left the company in 2012.

Overview

Pinterest allows users to save images from other websites or upload their own and “pin” them to an album of images known as a pinboard. Other users can find these pinboards and copy the images they like to their own boards. The initial view of the website was that it was mainly for women, since predominantly women were logging in seeking help to plan everything from dinners to weddings. Within four years after its launch in 2010, Pinterest grew to become one of the most popular websites on the Internet.

When users first sign up for Pinterest, they create a profile that includes a username. They then have the option of installing the Pinterest Save button on their web browser. This allows users to easily pin images from other websites to their boards. When pinning from a website, a link to the original page can be added on Pinterest so users can go to the source if they are interested.

Once users decide to make a pin, they must then select which pinboard to add it to. They also have the option of writing a caption for the image and creating a new pinboard based on it. Users can title their new pinboards whatever they like, but Pinterest has set categories, so users must pick the appropriate one or select “other.” There is also an option to add other users to a pinboard, so that they can also add images. Similar to Twitter, users can follow other accounts that interest them and “repin” images posted there, which adds them to one of their own boards. Users also have the option of “liking” and commenting on other users’ pins.

Popularity

Unlike many social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest did not achieve widespread popularity right away. Much of this was due to the fact that users were unsure of the website’s purpose. In June 2010, three months following its official launch, the website had three thousand users.

In April 2012, a report by marketing service Experian found that Pinterest had become the third most popular social networking site behind Facebook and X. This was a jump from the number seven spot in Experian’s previous report in November 2011. According to analytics groups such as Semiocast and comScore, within three years, Pinterest grew rapidly, reaching tens of millions of users worldwide.


According to Statista, in 2024, Pinterest reported approximately 553 million monthly active users worldwide. Pinterest reported more than 600 million monthly active users globally by late 2025 and early 2026.

Business Accounts

In 2012, Pinterest began allowing users to create business accounts. This development has enabled users who own businesses to market their products using the website’s image-based interface and link to a page where members can purchase the products. Users were also given the option of converting their personal Pinterest page into a business-specific one. For business accounts, Pinterest added several features to help companies improve their marketing strategy. These additions include buttons for users to pin images from the business websites onto Pinterest to help drive traffic and grow their audience. Pinterest announced expanded advertising opportunities for major consumer brands in late 2014. For a fee, businesses will be allowed to post tailored “Promoted Pins” that appear on users’ feeds. Pinterest later expanded its e-commerce features by introducing shoppable Pins, AI-assisted product discovery, and enhanced merchant integrations.

In 2022, Pinterest announced that its co-founder Ben Silbermann would step down from his position as chief executive and become the company’s first executive chair. Bill Ready, who has worked for PayPal and Google, became Pinterest’s chief executive officer. The following year, Pinterest announced its partnership with the platform LiveRamp. Pinterest and LiveRamp had a goal of avoiding third-party cookies and offering a secure environment. In 2025, Pinterest launched Pinterest Assistant, an AI-powered shopping and discovery tool that provides personalized recommendations based on users’ visual preferences and activity. Pinterest is increasingly focused on artificial intelligence, visual search, and personalized shopping experiences.


Bibliography

Bercovici, Jeff. “Inside Pinterest: The Coming Ad Colossus That Could Dwarf Twitter and Facebook.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 15 Oct. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/10/15/inside-pinterest-the-coming-ad-colossus-that-could-dwarf-twitter-and-facebook/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Bercovici, Jeff. “Still More Data Shows Pinterest Passing Twitter in Popularity.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 24 June 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2014/06/24/still-more-data-shows-pinterest-passing-twitter-in-popularity/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Carlson, Nicholas. “Inside Pinterest: An Overnight Success Four Years in the Making.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 1 May 2012, www.businessinsider.com/inside-pinterest-an-overnight-success-four-years-in-the-making-2012-4. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Degenhard, J. “Number of Pinterest Users in the United States from 2019 to 2028.” Statista, 26 Mar. 2026, www.statista.com/forecasts/1146884/pinterest-users-in-the-united-states. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Geron, Tomio. “Ben Silbermann on How Pinterest Slowly Grew to Massive Scale.” Forbes. Forbes.com, 22 Oct. 2012. www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/10/22/ben-silbermann-on-how-pinterest-slowly-grew-to-massive-scale/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Griffith, Erin. “Pinterest’s Ben Silbermann Steps Down as Chief Executive.” The New York Times, 28 June 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/business/pinterest-ben-silbermann.html. Accessed 19 May. 2026.

Haughney, Christine. “Publications See Pinterest as Key Ally.” New York Times. New York Times, 21 Sept. 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/business/media/publications-see-pinterest-as-key-ally. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Isaac, Mike. “Pinterest Pushing Deeper into Ads.” New York Times. New York Times, 28 Dec. 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/business/media/pinterest-opening-its-boards-to-ads-.. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Madrigal, Alexis C. “Can Pinterest Compete with Google’s Search?” NPR. NPR, 30 July 2014. www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/07/30/332317807/can-pinterest-compete-with-googles-search. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Madrigal, Alexis C. “What Is Pinterest? A Database of Intentions.” Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly, 31 July 2014. www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/what-is-pinterest-a-database-of-intentions/375365/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

McDade, Aaron. “Pinterest’s Stock Is Soaring after Better-Than-Expected Earnings. Its CEO Says AI Helped Drive Growth.” Investopedia, 5 May 2026, www.investopedia.com/pinterest-stock-is-soaring-after-better-than-expected-earnings-its-ceo-says-ai-helped-drive-growth-pins-11966736. Accessed 19 May 2026.

“Say Hello to Pinterest Assistant: Revolutionizing the Way You Shop Online.” Pinterest Newsroom, Pinterest, 30 Oct. 2025, newsroom.pinterest.com/news/pinterest-assistant-revolutionizing-the-way-you-shop-online/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Sheikh, Mahnoor. “29 Essential Pinterest Statistics for Marketers in 2026.” Sprout Social, 4 May 2026, sproutsocial.com/insights/pinterest-statistics/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

Watkins, Bill. “Pinterest and LiveRamp Pilot a New Clean Room Solution with Albertsons Media Collective.” Business, 5 Jan. 2023, business.pinterest.com/blog/pinterest-liveramp-pilot-data-clean-room/. Accessed 19 May 2026.

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